Taylor Swift accepts the Album Of The Year award for “Midnights” during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 2024. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy. Every Grammy Awards have own storyline, and the 2024 edition may end up being…

Mick Jagger performs during the Rolling Stones’ Forty Licks Tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2003. Photo by KMazur/WireImage. Photo by James Keivom/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. In 2018 I completed a quest to list my top five (or so) songs for every…

RIFF’s best albums of 2023 include the Rolling Stones, Blink-182, Cleo Sol, Miley Cyrus, Allison Russell, Victoria Monét, Kali Uchis, Fall Out Boy, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Manchester Orchestra, Janelle Monáe, JPEGMafia with Danny Brown, Blondshell, Doja Cat, Andre 3000, Mick Jenkins, Sir Chloe, Ryuchi Sakamoto, James…

Miley Cyrus, “Endless Summer Vacation.” There may be few tracks as instantly memorable as Miley Cyrus‘ latest hit “Flowers,” a slow-burn groove with an empowering message of independence and self-love. The anthemic song kicks off her eight studio album, one that was kept largely under wraps until its release.…

Lil Nas X performs during WiLD 94.9’s Jingle Ball at The Masonic in San Francisco on Dec. 8, 2019. The debut album by Lil Nas X, Montero, has been a long time coming.  The Atlanta rapper has transformed before audiences from the meme zeitgeist of “Old Town Road” to a…

“The Metallica Blacklist.” In honor of the 30th anniversary of their self-titled album, mostly referred to as the Black Album, Metallica is doing two things. The band is re-releasing the album with a lot of concert recordings and alternate versions. It’s not their first time doing so; in 2008…

Miley Cyrus performs at BottleRock Napa on Sept. 4, 2021. Photos: Adam Pardee/STAFF unless otherwise noted. NAPA — Miley Cyrus has rebelled against the constructs that limited her for many years now, and that didn’t change at her co-headlining slot at BottleRock Napa Valley on Saturday. She used the…

Caitlyn Smith, courtesy: Shervin Lainez. If you ask, Nashville singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith will tell you that a supernova is the fullest, brightest expression of a star in its final moments. But the artist, who built a career of songwriting for stars before her own ignited, hopes her second album—titled…

Here comes—let’s be realistic here—the slightly less overcast sun, with the Beatles. You’re reading this in 2021. That means you made it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m under no impression that 2021 will immediately be all sunshine and rainbows. We’re still in the midst of a plague that should…

Miley Cyrus, “Plastic Hearts.” Miley Cyrus has covered a staggering amount of musical territory over her seven-album catalog. Each time she reinvents herself, it’s not simply just adding a few new influences; rather, a complete shape-shift that transforms the 28-year-old pop star in every facet. In recent years, Cyrus…